Ship-carried vehicle landing apparatus



Nov. 23, 1954 J. M. POCHE CARRIED VEHICLE LANDING APPARATUS sHIP- Filed sept. 27, 1951 2 Sheets-She'et l ATTORNEY Nov. 23, 1954 J. M. POCHE 2,694,996

SHIP-CARRIED VEHICLE LANDING APPARATUS Filed sept. 27, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. "Ifo-m14,

BY'MJL'W m@ @W1 United States Patent Office 2,694,996 Patented Nov. 23, 1954 SHR-CARRIED VEHICLE LANDING APPARATUS John Morris Poche, Mississippi City, Miss. Application September 27, 1951, Serial No. 248,495

3 Claims. (Cl. 114-70) My invention relates to launching apparatus. An object of this invention is to provide a landing ship having a bow slidable vertically to provide an opening in the front of the ship when the bow is moved upwardly. Another object is to provide means for lifting and lowering said bow.

Another object is to provide a watertight door for said opening through which equipment such as armored tanks may be launched. Another object is to provide means for opening and closing said door.

Another object is to provide a ramp associated with said opening down which the equipment may be launched when said door is open. Another object is to provide means for lifting and lowering said ramp.

Another object is to provide an assembled multi-section flexible pontoon causeway adapted to be stored in the belly of the ship. Another object is to provide means for extending said causeway through said opening and for pulling the causeway back into the ship.

Another object is to provide a watertight bilge floor in the bottom of the ship, and an operational oor spaced above said bilge iioor for providing a space in which the causeway may be stowed between said floors. Another object is to provide a storage deck in the upper part of the ship in order that equipment such as tanks may be stored thereon.

Another object is to provide means for securely anchoring both ends of the ship in order to prevent any swinging movement thereof.

The said objects I have accomplished by means now to be described in detail and claimed, it being understood that changes in the embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. l is a cut away view of the front of a ship showing the ship with the pontoon causeway extended to the beach for launching tanks.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pontoons of the causeway and showing how they interlock and are coupled together.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the causeway.

Fig. 4 is an elevational View of a ship at full speed ahead.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view showing the ship anchored and unloading.

Fig. 6 is a sectional cut out View of a spud pole.

Figs. 7 and 8 are cross sectional views of the pontoon taken at lines 7-7 and S--8, respectively, of Fig. 2.

Referring to the construction shown in the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a ship having a vertically slideable bow 2. A spud pole 3 has a hose 4 attached to its upper end for delivery of water down the passageway through the spud pole. A watertight door 5 is pivoted near the bottom of the ship. A ramp 6 is pivoted to the front end of an operational floor 7 having rollers 8 on its lower side. A storage deck 7' is positioned above the oor 7. Rollers 8 are mounted on the upper side of a water tight bilge floor 9 placed above the bilge 9'.

One end of a cable 10 is secured at 11 to the bow 2 and after passing' a sheave 12 is attached to a winding drum 13. A cable 14 is secured to the outer end of the door 5 and after passing a sheave 15 is attached to a winding drum 16. A cable 17 is secured to the outer end of the ramp 6 and after passing a sheave 11S is secured to a winding drum 19. A cable 20 is attached to a winding drum 21 and after passing a sheave 22 is deflected rearwardly and secured to the rear end of a pontoon causeway for extending the latter from the ship. A cable 23 is attached to a winding drum 24 and after passing a sheave 25 is attached at 26 to the forward end of the causeway for pulling the latter back into the ship. A caple 27 is attached to a winding drum 28 and after passing a sheave 29 is secured to the spud pole 3.

The flexible pontoon causeway previously mentioned is assembled as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A front pontoon 30 has its rear formed with a reentrant opening. 'I'his pontoon is provided with raised sides 31 which extend along the sides of the opening to form wings.

A number of successive pontoons 32 are provided at their front with necks 33 and at their rear with reentrant openings. The necks 33 of successive pontoons in turn fit into the said openings. The pontoons are connected together by couplings 34 passing through the necks 33 and the wings of the pontoons. When tanks T are on the causeway and positioned between the couplings 34, the weight of a tank is distributed past the couplings thus equalizing buoyancy by extending an equal amount of pontoons beyond the couplings each way. It will be understood from Fig. 2 that when a tank has moved past one coupling, it is positioned between two couplings.

The operation and advantages of this invention will be apparent in connection with the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing and to a large extent have already been indicated. When the ship has been brought close to a beach, it is securely anchored by means of the spud poles 3. In order to launch equipment such as tanks, the bow 2 is moved vertically from the dotted position shown in Fig. l into the full line position. The door 5 is opened, the ramp 6 is lowered, the pontoon causeway is extended out the beach, and the tanks are moved .from the floor 7 down the ramp 6 onto the causeway and moved thereon to be landed on the beach. Equipment may be brought down from the storage deck 7'. W'hen the bilge oor 9 is flooded, the causeway will have a tendency to float and will exert pressure on the rollers 8. When there is no water on the floor 9, the weight of the causeway will be supported on the rollers 8.

When the ship is to be moved into another position, the causeway is pulled back into the ship, the ramp 6 is swung upwardly, the door 5 is closed, and the bow 2 moved downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 4. Water is forced down the passageways in the spud poles to loosen them from the ground as indicated in Fig. 6 and then they are lifted.

I claim:

l. In a launching apparatus, the combination of a ship, means carried by the ship for holding it in fixed position, a vertically slidable bow for the front of the ship whereby an opening therein may be provided, a watertight door pivoted near the bottom of the ship for closing said opening, a watertight bilge floor in the bottom of the ship for receiving thereon a pontoon causeway consisting of a plurality of interlocking members successively pivoted together, means for extending and retracting said causeway through said opening, an operational floor spaced above said bilge floor for receiving thereon equipment to be launched, and a ramp pivoted to the bottom of the front end of said operational tloor down which ramp the said equipment may be delivered upon the extended causeway.

2. In a launching apparatus, the combination of a ship, means carried by the ship for holding it in xed position, a vertically slidable bow for the front of the ship whereby an opening therein may be provided, a watertight door pivoted near the bottom of the ship for closing said opening, a watertight bilge oor in the bottom of the ship for receiving thereon a pontoon causeway consisting of a plurality of interlocking members successively pivoted together, means for extending and retracting said cause- Y3 way through said op'ehg, an operational ioor spaced above said bilge floor for receiving thereon equipment to be launched, a ramp pivoted to the bottom of the front end of said operational oo down which ramp the said equipment may be delivered upon the extended causeway, and storage deck spaced above said operational oor.

3. In a launching apparatus, the combination of a ship, means carried by the ship for holding it in xed position, a vertically slidable bow for the lfront ofthe ship whereby an opening therein may be provided, a watertight door pivoted near l'the bottom of the ship for closing said open'- ing, a watertight bilge oor in the bottom of the ship for receiving thereon a pontoon causeway consisting of a plurality of interlocking members successively pivoted together, means for extending and retracting said causeway through said opening, an operational oor spaced above tsaid bilge oor for receiving thereon equipment to be launched, ya ramp pivoted to the bottom of the front end of said operational floor 'down which ramp the 'said equipment may be delivered upon the extended causeway, and lrollers attached to the under side of said operational loor, and rollers mounted on the upper side of saidbilge oor.

Number 5 820,109 1,032,568 1,284,767 2,134,352 2,341,866 10 2,370,916 2,453,155 2,465,851 2,518,091. 2,536,908 l5 2,568,330

Number Name Date Hansson May 8, 1906 Swift July 16, 1912 Popowicz Nov. 12, 1918 Baer Oct. 25, 1938 Higgins Feb. 15, 1944 Reedy Maf. 6, 1945 Nelson Nov. 9, 1948 Crandall Mar. 29, 1949 Stopkevyc Aug. 8, 1950 Chadwick Jan. 2, 1951 Flippin Sept. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 30, 1888 Holland Nov. l5, 1935 Germany Jan. 10, 1931 

